Black Solitaire

Very large for a hummingbird; size alone separates from many other species. Males and females similar: gray below, dusky-greenish back, brown rump, and large dark tail with prominent white corners. Also note white eyebrow and short white mustache stripe. Male has bright blue throat patch, difficult to see unless the light hits it just right. Uncommon in canyons and mountains with mixed pine-oak forests, primarily in Mexico but barely extending into the U.S. Very similar to Amethyst-throated Mountain-gem, especially if you can’t see the throat color. Blue-throated is slightly larger and paler overall with larger white (not gray) tips on the tail feathers; females are plainer, lacking the buffy tones of Amethyst-throated. Also compare with Rivoli’s Hummingbird, especially females; Blue-throated is shorter-billed and plainer (less speckled) on the underparts.

Tiny, generally uncommon finch of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands. Usually in pairs, which associate readily with other euphonias, especially when feeding at mistletoe. Male has black head and throat with yellow forehead patch and white vent (vent yellow on Scrub Euphonias in same range). Yellow breast is richer, more golden yellow than Scrub Euphonia. Female rather drab but distinctive: pale grayish throat contrasts with dull yellowish breast and vent is white like male.

A chunky-billed brown finch with an electric-red rump, red tail, and red hood that extends from the throat to the nape; the hood of the male is larger than the female’s and extends down the flanks. Juvenile is duller than the adult. A secretive and uncommon resident restricted to Upper Guinea, found in pairs in swamp forest, scrub near creeks, and thickets near water in primary and secondary forest; also sometimes in cultivation. Song is a variable series of buzzes and whistles, and call is a strident “tsut…tsut.” Male Black-bellied Seedcracker differs from Crimson by having a black (not brown) back and belly; females and juveniles are almost identical but only overlap in eastern Ivory Coast.